LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Graham Henry GLASGOW
Service No: 426255
Born: Brisbane QLD, 13 December 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 25 May 1942
Unit: No. 194 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident: (No. 194 Squadron Dakota aircraft KN556), off the Myanmar Coast, 25 July 1945, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James Glasgow, and of Gladys May Glasgow, of Graceville, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Column 457, Singapore Memorial, Singapore
Remembered: Panel 122, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 25 July 1945 Dakota KN556 was scheduled for an early morning take-off which was delayed until 0900 hours due to heavy rain rendering the runway unserviceable. The aircraft was carrying a stores load for Toungoo, Burma. When the aircraft finally took off at 1007 hours nothing unusual was noticed by Flying Control, with no rain at the time, cloud 7 – 9/10ths and ceiling of 400-500 feet. At 1720 hours the aircraft was reported overdue to No. 341 Wing Operations who initiated overdue procedures. As two of the three aircraft going to Toungoo had arrived after taking-off
6 hours previously, Control gave KN556 an extra hour before reporting the aircraft overdue.
Nothing further was heard until 26 July 1945, when two members of No. 62 Squadron RAF who had been fishing near the mouth of the Chuang River, Akyab Beach returned to camp and reported finding Dakota wreckage. Panels washed ashore had KN556 and ‘U’ markings. Owing to the state on the tides and difficult tracks through mangrove swamps, it was impossible to search until the next morning when the tide was low. The identification of the wreckage of KN 556 was beyond doubt with small pieces scattered along the beach but there was no sign of the crew or of bodies washed ashore. A 1956 report recorded the crew as missing with no known graves.
The crew members of KN556 were:
Pilot Officer Graham Henry Glasgow (426255) (Second Wireless Operator)
Pilot Officer Ernest John Greenway (201468) (RAF) (Second Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Thomas Leonard Mumby DFM (49752) (RAF) (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Geoffrey Charles Oscar Pollie (418707) (Navigator)
Pilot Officer William Vaughan (422284) (First Wireless Operator)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/15/533